INTRODUCTION The Family’s Influences On Luke Chandler In John Grisham’s A Painted House: A Behaviorist Approach.

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

A. Background
In reality human being cannot live without others. Human need
others help to fulfill their needs. With this reason, human need to live in
community to get in touch and to fulfill their needs. That is why human
are called as social creature. The environment directly or indirectly will
influence one’s personality. The biggest influence comes from the family.
Family is the smallest unit of society. It is a place where human
firstly interact. Family is one of the most important socializing influences
for human. One’s acquire values, expectation, and pattern of behavior
from their family. In the family parents are the most important factor in
determining one’s personality. “Ideally parents limit child autonomy and
instill values and self control while taking care not to undermine the child
curiosity, initiate, and competence” (Craig, 1989: 337). The social
supporting systems such as neighbors, relatives, friends, are also valuable
in determining one’s personality and behavior.
In interacting with social supporting systems, the family’s function
is as a filter. Family continues to be one of the most important socializing
influences for school age children. Believes, values, and attitudes of the

culture are filtered through the parents and presented to the child in highly
personalized selective fashion (Craig, 1989: 419). The same family will

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function differently in differ situations and under varied circumstances.
The condition of the family will have much influence on the child life.
With so many influences, the child will form his or her attitude according
to what he or she acquires from their family.
Literary work is an expression of human’s life. Obviously, literary
work always describes about human in some society systems. Literary
work also explores and interprets some point of view about human. With
such kind of composition, it can say that literature always related with
human’s behavior. The behaviorist approach is the right method to reveal
the character’s behavior and personalities in the work.
In this case, the writer intends to conduct a study on the behavioral
aspect of the main character in A Painted House, a novel written by John
Grisham. Grisham was born on February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro Arkansas.
As best selling author, John Grisham also write other best seller novels
such as The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, A Time To Kill, The

Chamber, The Rain Maker, The Runaway Jury, The Partner, and The
Street Lawyer. A Painted House is one of Grisham’s best seller with 7
million copies was on the New York Time’s best seller.
A Painted House tells the story about the seven years old boy Luke
Chandler who lived in a cotton farmhouse. In harvest time, 1952, there are
two groups of migrant worker, the Mexicans and the hill peoples come to
chandler’s farm. Their coming makes so many changes in Luke’s world.
Luke sees some brutal murders that make him shocked. In his environment
Luke is the smallest, because he is just a kid. That’s why he always wants
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to know what happen around him. On his curiosity, Luke sees a girl who
always pulls his attention. Luke’s life always determine by his family.
Luke’s family has a great role in his life. In this novel Grisham describes
the life of a farmer family in the harvest time and how the family, the
environment and all of the characters in the novel give influences on
Luke’s life.
Considering a slight story of the novel above, the writer intends to
analyze the novel by using behaviorist approach.

B. Literature Review
The study on John Grisham’s A Painted House hasn’t been done
yet, at least in Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta and in all of
University in Surakarta.
As far as the writer knows, this novel hasn’t been analyzed before.
This is the first study on the novel A Painted House written by John
Grisham. The writer has interest in this novel because the other researcher
has not analyzed it yet.

C. Problem Statement
The problem statement in this research is how the farmer’s family
influences the major character in John Grisham’s A Painted House.

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D. Objective of the Study
According to the problem statement above, the writer has some
objectives on this study as follows:
1. To analyze the structural elements of the novel.
2. To analyze the major character’s behavior and personality that is

influenced by the family.

E. Benefit of the Study
In conducting this research the writer expected to give some benefits as
follows:
1. Theoretical Benefit
To give contribution to the development of knowledge, especially
knowledge about literature.
2. Practical Benefit
To give more understanding about the novel especially in the
behavioral point of view.

F. Research Method
1. Type of Research
The research about this novel belongs to qualitative research. It
called so because it does not need a statistic to explore the facts.
Qualitative research is a type of research that does not include calculation
and enumeration.

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2. Type of Data and Data Source
The type of data employed in this research is textual data that
consist of words, phrases, and sentences. The data are classified into two
categories, called primary data and secondary data. The primary data
source is the novel itself. While the secondary data sources are the books
about behavioristic and also the other materials which related to the
analysis.
3. Data Collecting Technique
In collecting the data of this research the writer using the library
research. The techniques of data collection procedure are as follows:
a. Reading and learning on John Grisham’s A Painted House and the
secondary data from other books.
b. Identifying data obtained for the analysis.
c. Classifying the data into some categories.
d. Selecting some particular parts considered important and relevant
for the analysis.
e. Going to the library, read the books and make a note, which related
to the analysis.
4. Data Analyzing Technique

The data analyzing technique of this research is using descriptive
technique. The technique is used to describe the elements of the novel and
make some understanding toward the novel.

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G. Paper Organization
This research paper is divided into five chapters. The first chapter
is introduction, literature review, problem statement, and the objective of
the study, benefit of the study, research method, and paper organization.
The second chapter is underlying theory. It deals with the notion of
behaviorist theory, major principle of behaviorism, behaviorist assumption
and the theoretical application. The third chapter is structural analysis. In
this chapter the writer, explain the structural of the novel that consist of
character and characterization, plot, setting, point of view, style and theme.
The fourth chapter is the behavioral analysis of the novel. Finally, in the
fifth chapter the writer gives conclusion and suggestion.

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